BD Demystified

Stuff You Need to Know About Blu-ray

Table of Contents

  • List of Figures and Tables
  • Foreword by Andy Parsons
  • Preface
  • Acknowledgements
  • Introduction
    • About Blu-ray Disc™
    • Movies, Television Shows, and More
    • About This Book
    • Units and Notation
    • Other Conventions
  • Chapter 1 – The Development of Blu-ray Disc
    • A Brief History of Storage Technology
    • TV’s Digital Face-Lift
    • The CD Revolution
    • The Long Gestation of DVD
    • Format Wars, the Next Generation
  • Chapter 2 – Technology Primer
    • Understanding Digital and Analog
    • <
    • Pits and Marks and Error Corrections
    • Layers
    • The Two HDs – High Definition and High Density
    • The World’s Television Systems
    • Frame Rates
    • High-Definition Image Resolutions
    • Chroma Subsampling and Bit Depth
    • High-Definition Data Streams
    • Bird Over the Phone: Understanding Video Compression
    • Advanced Video Codecs
    • Birds Revisited: Understanding Audio Compression
    • Speakers Everywhere
    • A Few Timely Words About Jitter
    • Pegs and Holes: Understanding Aspect Ratios
    • Widescreen Displays
    • Why 16:9
    • The Transfer Tango
    • More on Interlaced vs. Progressive Scanning
    • New Display Technologies
    • HD Discs Meet HD Video Meet HD Television
  • Chapter 3 – Features
    • Building on DVD Features
    • The Makeover from DVD to Blu-ray Disc
    • Network Connection
    • Persistent Storage and Local Storage
    • Authorized Copying and Authorized Recording
  • Chapter 4 – Content Protection, Licensing, and Patents
    • Implementing Content Protection
    • Advanced Access Content System (AACS)
    • AACS Managed Copy
    • BD-ROM Mark
    • BD+
    • Content Protection on Recordable Discs
    • Watermarking
    • Digital Transmission Content Protection (DTCP)
    • High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP)
    • Summary of Protection Schemes
    • The Analog Sunset
    • Regional Management
    • Ramifications of Content Protection
  • Chapter 5 – Physical Disc Formats
    • BD-ROM Mastering
    • BD-ROM Composition and Production
    • BD-RE Composition
    • BD-R Composition
    • BD Error Correction
    • BD Data Modulation
    • BD-R/RE Recording
    • Phase-Change Recording
    • Burst Cutting Area (BCA)
    • Hybrid Discs
    • Media Storage and Longevity
    • Improvement over DVD
  • Chapter 6 – Application Details
    • BDAV
    • Organizational Structure
    • BDMV
    • Presentation Data
    • Paths and Subpaths
    • BD-ROM Application Types
    • Presentation Planes
    • Organization Structure
    • Navigation Data
    • User Interaction
    • Video Formats
    • Advanced Video Applications
    • Audio Formats
    • Presentation Graphics
    • Parental Management
    • Metadata
    • HDMV Details
    • HDMV Graphics Limitations
    • Interactive Audio
    • Browsable Slideshow
    • BD-Java (BD-J) Details
    • System Overview
    • BD-J Application Programming Interface (API)
    • BD-J Menus
    • Graphics Drawing
    • BD-J Text
    • Advanced BD-J Features
    • Local Storage
    • Virtual File System
    • BD-Live Functionality
    • Application Signing
    • Credential Process
  • Chapter 7 – Players
    • High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI)
    • DisplayPort Interface Standard
    • Upscaling DVD
    • Player Types
    • Blu-ray Disc Recorders
    • Player Connections
    • BD Player User Tools
    • How to Get the Best Picture and Sound
    • Viewing Distance
    • Compatibility
  • Chapter 8 – Myths
    • Myth: “Blu-ray is Revolutionary”
    • Myth: “Blu-ray Will Fail”
    • Myth: “We’ll Soon Get Everything from the Internet and Discs Will Go the Way of Dinosaurs”
    • Myth: “Some Discs Won’t Play If the Player Doesn’t Have an Internet Connection”
    • Myth: “BD-Live Discs Don’t Work on All Players
    • Myth: “Profile 2 (BD-Live) Players and Discs Make Previous Players Obsolete”
    • Myth: “Profile 3 and Profile 4 or Future Profiles Will Make Previous Players Obsolete”
    • Myth: “The BDA Will Soon Mandate that All BD Players Have an Internet Connection”
    • Myth: “If You Unplug Your Profile 2 (BD-Live) Player From the Internet It Will Stop Working”
    • Myth: “AACS, BD+, and BD-Live Allow Studios to Spy on Consumers”
    • Myth: “Blu-ray Doesn’t Look Any Better Than Upconverted DVD”
    • Myth: “Blu-ray Players Downconvert Analog Video”
    • Myth: “DVD Players Can Be Upgraded to Play Blu-ray Discs”
    • Myth: “Older Blu-ray Players Can Be Upgraded to New Profiles”
    • Myth: “Existing Receivers with Dolby Digital and DTS Decoding Work Perfectly With Blu-ray Players”
    • Myth: “Analog Connections from DVD Players and Blu-ray Players Won’t Work with US TVs After the February 2009 Analog Cutoff”
    • Myth: “Blu-ray Manufacturing Is Too Intricate and Too Expensive”
    • Myth: “The Blu-ray Disc Association Prohibits Adult Content”
    • Myth: “Blu-ray Is a Worldwide Standard”
    • Myth: “1080p Video is Twice the Resolution of 1080i”
    • Myth: “All Blu-ray Titles are (or Must Be) Encoded in 1080p”
    • Myth: “Blu-ray Players Only Output 1080i Video”
    • Myth: “Blu-ray Does Not Support Mandatory Managed Copy”
    • Myth: “Managed Copy Means Every Blu-ray Disc Can be Copied For Free”
    • Myth: “BD+ Interferes With Managed Copy”
    • Myth: “Region Codes Don’t Apply to Computers”
    • Myth: “Blu-ray Players Can’t Play CDs or DVDs”
    • Myth: “Blu-ray Is Better Because It Is Digital”
    • Myth: “Blu-ray Video is Poor Because It Is Compressed”
    • Myth: “Video Compression Does Not Work for Animation”
    • Myth: “Discs Are Too Fragile to Be Rented”
    • Myth: “Dolby Digital or DTS Means 5.1 Channels”
    • Myth: “The Audio Level from Blu-ray Players Is Too Low”
    • Myth: “Downmixed Audio Is Not Good Because the LFE Channel Is Omitted”
    • Myth: “Blu-ray Lets You Watch Movies as They Were Meant to Be Seen”
    • Myth: “Java and JavaScript Are the Same Thing”
    • Myth: “All Blu-ray Discs Must Use AACS”
    • Myth: “AACS Is Required for HDMV, BD-J, Network Access, or Local Storage Access”
  • Chapter 9 – What’s Wrong with Blu-ray Disc?
    • Copy Protection
    • Regional Management
    • Hollywood Baggage on Computers
    • NTSC versus PAL Is Also 60 Hertz versus 50 Hertz
    • Connection Incompatibilities
    • Playback Incompatibilities
    • Poor Performance
    • Feeble Support of Parental Choice Features
    • Not Better Enough
    • No Reverse Play
    • Only Two Aspect Ratios
    • No Barcode Standard
    • No External Control Standard
    • Poor Computer Compatibility
    • Limited Web Standard
    • Too Many Encoding Formats
    • Too Many Inputs
    • Too Many Channels
    • Not Enough Interactivity
    • Too Much Interactivity
    • Conclusion
  • Chapter 10 – Interactivity
    • Recreating DVD’s Success
    • A New Kind of Interactivity
    • The Seamless User Experience
    • Target Applications
    • Additional Features
    • Specialized User Input
  • Chapter 11 – Use in Business and Education
    • The Appeal of Blu-ray
    • The Appeal of Blu-ray for Video
    • The Appeal of Blu-ray for Data
  • Chapter 12 – Production Essentials
    • Blu-ray Disc Project Examples
    • General BD Production
    • Tasks and Skills
    • The BD Production Process
    • Persistent Storage
    • Network Connected Features – BD-Live
    • Project Design
    • Menu Design
    • Navigation Design
    • Balancing the Bit Budget
    • Asset Preparation
    • The Zen of Subwoofers
    • Slipping Synchronization
    • Preparing Subtitles
    • Preparing Graphics
    • Video Artifacts
    • Putting It All Together (Authoring)
    • Formatting and Output
    • Testing and Quality Control
    • Replication, Duplication, and Distribution
    • Disc Labeling
    • Package Design
    • Production Maxims
    • BD-ROM Production
    • Hybrid Discs
  • Chapter 13 – Blu-ray and Beyond
    • Looking Back at DVD
    • Peering Forward...Into the Digital Fog
    • Beyond Blu-ray
    • The Death of DVD?
    • Seeing Double
    • The Changing Face of Home Entertainment
    • The Far Horizon
  • Appendix A - About the Disc
  • Appendix B – Reference Data
  • Appendix C – Related Standards and Specifications
  • Appendix D – References and Information Sources
  • Glossary
  • Index

List of Figures and Tables

  • Chapter 1 – Introduction
    • Table I.1 Meaning of Prefixes
    • Table I.2 Media Gigabyte Conversions
    • Table I.3 Notations Used in This Book
  • Chapter 1 – The Development of Blu-ray Disc
    • Figure 1.1 Punched Card and Optical Disc
  • Chapter 2 – Technology Primer
    • Figure 2.1 Optical Disc Pits
    • Figure 2.2 Number Squares
    • Figure 2.3 Optical Disc Layers
    • Figure 2.4 Run-length Compression Example
    • Figure 2.5 Color and Luminance Sensitivity of the Eye
    • Figure 2.6 Block Transforms and Quantization
    • Figure 2.7 Typical MPEG Picture Sequence
    • Figure 2.8 MPEG Video Compression Example
    • Figure 2.9 Frequency Masking and Hearing Threshold
    • Figure 2.10 Effects of Interface Jitter
    • Figure 2.11 Effects of Sampling Jitter
    • Figure 2.12 TV Shape vs. Movie Shape
    • Figure 2.13 Peg and Hole
    • Figure 2.14 Shrink the Peg
    • Figure 2.15 Slice the Peg
    • Figure 2.16 Squeeze the Peg
    • Figure 2.17 Soft Matte Filming
    • Figure 2.18 Pan and Scan Transfer
    • Figure 2.19 The Anamorphic Process
    • Figure 2.20 Aspect Ratios, Conversions, and Displays
    • Figure 2.21 Wide (Full) Mode on a Widescreen TV
    • Figure 2.22 Expand (Theater) Mode on Widescreen TV
    • Figure 2.23 Opening the Frame from 1.85 to 1.78
    • Figure 2.24 Common Aspect Ratios
    • Figure 2.25 Display Sizes at Equal Heights
    • Figure 2.26 Relative Display Sizes for Letterbox Display
    • Figure 2.27 Interlaced Scan and Progressive Scan
    • Figure 2.28 Converting Film to Video
    • Figure 2.29 DTV and HD Ready Logos
    • Table 2.1 Image Data Stream Examples
    • Table 2.2 Compression Ratios for Disc Technologies
  • Chapter 3 – Features
    • Table 3.1 Hollywood Studio Requirements for Next-Generation Formats
  • Chapter 4 - Content Protection, Licencing, and Patents
    • Figure 4.1 Copy Protection
    • Figure 4.2 Content Protection Systems
    • Figure 4.3 Sequence Key Example
    • Figure 4.4 AACS Authentication Process
    • Figure 4.5 Overview of BD-ROM Content Protection Systems
    • Figure 4.6 Blu-ray Disc Regions
    • Table 4.1 Allowed Analog Output Devices for AACS
    • Table 4.2 Blu-ray Disc Regions
  • Chapter 5 – Physical Disc Formats
    • Figure 5.1 BD Disc Structure
    • Figure 5.2 BD Disc Cartridges
    • Figure 5.3 BD Dual-layer Construction
    • Figure 5.4 Phase-Change Recording
    • Figure 5.5 Burst Cutting Area
    • Table 5.1 Physical Characteristics of BD
    • Table 5.2 Blu-ray Disc Capacities
    • Table 5.3 BD-RE Characteristics
    • Table 5.4 BD-R Characteristics
  • Chapter 6 – Application Details
    • Figure 6.1 Blu-ray Disc Association Organizational Structure
    • Figure 6.2 Structural Organization of BDAV Content
    • Figure 6.3 Directory Structure of BDMV Disc
    • Figure 6.4 Multiplexing Process
    • Figure 6.5 Blu-ray Disc Presentation Planes
    • Figure 6.6 Structural Organization of BDMV Content
    • Figure 6.7 Display Formats of 4:3 Aspect Ratio Content
    • Figure 6.8 Display Formats of 16:9 Aspect Ratio Content
    • Figure 6.9 Interlaced versus Progressive Display Modes
    • Figure 6.10 Camera Angles Example
    • Figure 6.11 Seamless Playback Example
    • Figure 6.12 Speaker Positioning for 7.1 Channel Configuration
    • Figure 6.13 HDMV Multipage Menu Example
    • Figure 6.14 BD-J System Overview
    • Figure 6.15 BD-J Specification Structure
    • Figure 6.16 Graphics Drawing in Source Mode
    • Figure 6.17 Graphics Drawing in Source-over Mode
    • Figure 6.18 Audio Mixer Components
    • Figure 6.19 Workflow for Application Signing
    • Figure 6.20 Credential Creation Process
    • Figure 6.21 Generalized Block Diagram of an MPEG-2 Encoder
    • Figure 6.22 Generalized Block Diagram of a VC-1 Encoder
    • Figure 6.23 Generalized Block Diagram of an AVC Encoder
    • Figure 6.24 Block Diagram of a Dolby TrueHD Decoder
    • Figure 6.25 Block Diagram of a DTS-HD Lossless Decoder
    • Figure 6.26 Example of Virtual Package
    • Table 6.1 Blu-ray Disc Association Technical Expert Groups
    • Table 6.2 Blu-ray disc Association Specification Books
    • Table 6.3 Guide to BD Alphabet Soup
    • Table 6.4 General Characteristics of BDMV Presentation Data
    • Table 6.5 Comparison of HDMV and BD-J Features
    • Table 6.6 Navigation Commands
    • Table 6.7 Player Status Registers (PSRs)
    • Table 6.8 User Operations (UO)
    • Table 6.9 Virtual Key (VK) Events
    • Table 6.10 Supported Resolutions and Frame Rates for Primary Video on Blu-ray Disc
    • Table 6.11 Recommended Data Rate Limitations for Camera Angles
    • Table 6.12 Allowed Combinations of Primary and Secondary Video Codecs
    • Table 6.13 Allowed Combinations of Primary and Secondary Video Formats
    • Table 6.14 Supported Primary Audio Formats for Blu-ray
    • Table 6.15 Supported Secondary Audio Formats for Blu-ray
    • Table 6.16 Correlation of PSD 13 Settings to MPAA Ratings
    • Table 6.17 BD-J Memory Overview
    • Table 6.18 BD-J API Overview
  • Chapter 7 – Players
    • Figure 7.1 RCA Phono Connector
    • Figure 7.2 BNC Connector
    • Figure 7.3 Phono/Miniphone Connector
    • Figure 7.4 DIN-4 (S-video) Connector
    • Figure 7.5 Toslink Connector
    • Figure 7.6 IEEE 1394 Connector
    • Figure 7.7 DB-25 Connector
    • Figure 7.8 SCART Connector
    • Figure 7.9 Type F Connector and Adapters
    • Figure 7.10 RJ-45 Connector
    • Figure 7.11 DVI Connector
    • Figure 7.12 HDMI Connector
    • Figure 7.13 DisplayPort Connector
    • Figure 7.14 Example BD Remote Control
    • Table 7.1 Blu-ray Disc Player Profiles and Features
    • Table 7.2 Examples of Compatibility Problems
  • Chapter 10 – Interactivity
    • Figure 10.1 Studio Revenue in 2007
  • Chapter 11 – Use in Business and Education
    • Figure 11.1 The Authoring Environment Spectrum: Utility vs. Ease of Use
  • Chapter 12 – Production Essentials
    • Figure 12.1 Sample Disc Flowchart
    • Figure 12.2 Navigation Flowchart Example
    • Figure 12.3 Blu-ray Player Remote Control Example
    • Figure 12.4 Data Rates vs Capacity
    • Figure 12.5 Video Safe Areas
    • Figure 12.6 Package Icons and Identifiers
    • Figure 12.7 Sample PNG Mosaic Graphic
    • Table 12.1 BD Project Examples
    • Table 12.2 The BD Production Process
    • Table 12.3 Disc Capacities for Bit Budgeting
    • Table 12.4 Sample Bit Budget
    • Table 12.5 Typical Project Assets
    • Table 12.6 Video Graphics Checklist
    • Table 12.7 Testing Checklist
  • Chapter 13 – Blu-ray and Beyond
    • Figure 13.1 US DVD and BD Penetration in the First Three Years
    • Figure 13.2 DVD and BD Title Releases
    • Figure 13.3 DVD and BD Disc Shipments
    • Figure 13.4 Media Convergence in the Digital Age
    • Table 13.1 Technology Penetration Rates-Years to Reach 50% of US Homes
  • Appendix A – About the Disc
    • Figure A.1 Disc Flowchart
  • Appendix B – Reference Data
    • Figure B.1 Conversion Formulas for Playing Times, Data Rate, and Size
    • Figure B.2 Relationships of BD Formats
    • Table B.1 BD, DVD, and CD Capacities and Playing Times
    • Table B.2 Data Rates at Various Playing Times
    • Table B.3 BD Stream Data Rates
    • Table B.4 Limits on BD Elements
    • Table B.5 Download Time for Various Payloads and Bandwidths
    • Table B.6 Bandwidth Requirements for Desired Download Times
    • Table B.7 DVD, HD DVD, BD, and CD Characteristics Comparison
    • Table B.8 Video Resolutions
    • Table B.9 ISO 3166 Country Codes, BD and DVD Regions
    • Table B.10 ISO 639 Language Codes